“Fill in the Blank”

Will Toledo of Car Seat Headrest majored in English as an undergrad: he must understand that the first line of any work is meant to set the tone, introduce the narrative, hook the audience. That said, the opening words of Teens of Denial are the ultimate introduction to an artist who is intimately known to longtime fans and a total mystery to recent ones. “What’s up guys?” asks an anonymous female voice. “You are now listening to… Car Seat Headrest!” she announces, stumbling on the band’s name as if conferring with notes. When the curtain rises and “Fill in the Blank” kicks off, it becomes obvious from both the expository statement and the subsequent subject matter that the track is Teens of Denial’s thesis.

Toledo’s first lines cut straight to the heart of the matter: his frustration with himself and the world around him. You can practically hear an apathetic eye roll in his voice as he dryly explains, “If I were split in two I would just take my own fists/ So I could beat up the rest of me.” Others tell him he has “no right to be depressed,” that he manifests his own unhappiness with unjustified world-weariness. After yelping his way through a full cycle of resistance, realization, and rejection, Toledo howls out “I’ve got a right to be depressed!” amid a rush of driving guitars and banging percussion. You might not believe in yourself by the end of “Fill in the Blank,” but you will certainly believe in Car Seat Headrest.